September 28th, 2005
$99 ZipIt Instant Messaging Hand-Held for Kids Sets Your PC Free
By Alice Hill
RealTechNews
I don’t have kids, but I know that parents spend a lot of time worrying about what they do online and that many have to share the family PC which can quickly become a living nightmare while little Suzy IMs her pals back and forth as you stand around cooling your heels. Luckily there is a new little “mother’s helper” called ZipIt from Aeronix, Inc. that piggybacks onto your wireless network and gives your kids IM access via a cheap but useful little handheld they can use to IM happily for hours without your PC.
The ZipIt Wireless Messenger connects home 802.11b wireless networks and hot spots for the sole purpose of instant messaging. No e-mail, no Web surfing, and no way to save any data locally. This gadget supports one account on each of the three major IM services, and can log on to all three services simultaneously.
The top competitor for the ZipIt is the Motorola IMFree, which takes a different approach to untethered IMing. It uses a radio link to communicate to a PC, which must always be turned on and connected to the Internet. That makes the ZipIt superior in pretty much every way. Plus, it can really lessen the pressure on the family PC. Source: PC Mag Online
We say: $99 and the ability to use your PC when you want to: Priceless
Gizmodo says:
Teacher’s Worst Nightmare - Aeronix ZipIt
Forget the cell phone, the Aeronix ZipIt instant messaging handheld is truly the classroom killer teacher’s have been having nightmares about. Just $99, the only good thing is that the ZipIt piggybacks right onto wireless networks, so if there’s none…
September 29th, 2005 at 6:38 am
ed3 says:
Not to mention the GUI can be bypassed to allow one to have a mostly-complete Linux-based handheld. http://www.aibohack.com/zipit/index.html
September 29th, 2005 at 7:18 am
jen says:
i havent gotten it yet but i hear so many awesome things about it that it makes me want to save up money and go get one or get one for CHRISTMAS (HOPEFULLY I DO, BECAUSE IT IS SO KOOL)!
October 25th, 2005 at 4:30 pm
Will says:
Just $99, the only good thing is that the ZipIt piggybacks right onto wireless networks, so if there’s none…
January 19th, 2006 at 10:01 am
Samigurl says:
Heyy. i think this thing is pretty cool. but its basiclly like having a computer in your hand. you can only use it when theres a wireless connection. butt anwayss, maybe i’ll get it.
December 16th, 2007 at 6:05 pm